Hidden Mickey

[dillwavis]

I have been collecting Disney Hidden Mickey pins and enjoy the thrill of finding each unique design. It's a fun and rewarding hobby, and my ultimate goal is to collect them all someday. Each pin feels like a small piece of magic, adding to the joy of the journey.

[momin.ator]

I love Hidden Mickeys too.  I mostly collect DLR. I have some for trade if you are interested in trading. 

[dillwavis]

@momin.ator Do you know why pins in the same set can have 2006 and 2007 on the back? I am so confused!!!

[TheTwins]

At Disneyland, the CLs (Cast Lanyard) and HMs (Hidden Mickey) were released in January and available throughout the year. Easy peasy! At WDW, it isn't that simple, though. CLs and HMs were released in August/September of any given year (at the big EPCOT pin event) and ran through July of the following year. Until about 2010, Cast Lanyard and Hidden Mickey pins were released during the first four months with that year's backstamp on them. When January came around, the pins had been reordered and had the next year's backstamp on them. Also, the pins which were later releases (whole sets were rarely released at the same time) often only have the second year's date on them. So, let's say you're looking at a cheat sheet for WDW 2005 pins. What they don't tell you is that they're actually 2004-05 pins. And the next year will be 2005-06 pins listed on the sheets as WDW 2006 pins. Hope this helps!

[mollyanne]

2 hours ago, TheTwins said:

At Disneyland, the CLs (Cast Lanyard) and HMs (Hidden Mickey) were released in January and available throughout the year. Easy peasy! At WDW, it isn't that simple, though. CLs and HMs were released in August/September of any given year (at the big EPCOT pin event) and ran through July of the following year. Until about 2010, Cast Lanyard and Hidden Mickey pins were released during the first four months with that year's backstamp on them. When January came around, the pins had been reordered and had the next year's backstamp on them. Also, the pins which were later releases (whole sets were rarely released at the same time) often only have the second year's date on them. So, let's say you're looking at a cheat sheet for WDW 2005 pins. What they don't tell you is that they're actually 2004-05 pins. And the next year will be 2005-06 pins listed on the sheets as WDW 2006 pins. Hope this helps!

Great information @TheTwins!! Thank you for sharing!

[momin.ator]

10 hours ago, dillwavis said:

@momin.ator Do you know why pins in the same set can have 2006 and 2007 on the back? I am so confused!!!

@TheTwins answered for you.  And they are correct.  Most of those early sets, especially the cast lanyards, were released over a period

of time so sometimes they were released and then rereleased (they made more) after the first of the year.  Also the sets (HM/CL) were released

over time so the first one from each of the sets was released and then a month later (or so) the second one would be released. Over (like @TheTwinssaid)

a year time period which included the end of one year into the next year. 

 

I hope we can trade if you want to.

[dillwavis]

What series then have both a silver hidden Mickey and a version without one?

[TheTwins]

September 2004- August 2006

 

GLOBAL CAST LANYARD COLLECTION

Series III (Sept 2004-Aug 2006)

CAST LANYARD SERIES: WAVE A
The pins issued between September and December 2004 have no XofX numbers on the backs or icons on the fronts. Some of these early Series III pins were re-released in Wave B with the icons on the front, with one exception. According to the Disney Pin Manager at the time, the five-pin Pooh Bust set was not going to be re-released by Disney with the icon. These pins all appear to have 2005 on the backs, even the icon-less 2004 releases.

CAST LANYARD SERIES: WAVE B
At the beginning of 2005, all new releases had the silver icons in the bottom-right corner on the front but still no numbers on the back. Some of the pins were new designs, others the Wave A re-releases.

 

CAST LANYARD COLLECTION
Series IV (Sept 2005-July 2006)
One last transition to what is commonly called Hidden Mickeys, so we’re almost there! Another backstamp change to CAST LANYARD COLLECTION. (Not to be confused with the 2006 Cast Lanyard Collection promotional pins.) For the first time, the pins are numbered XofX on the backs (like later Hidden Mickeys) and  have the silver icon on the fronts. At the show in September 2006, the first Hidden Mickey pins were introduced as “the same game with a different name”.